4 gang members from Atlantic City, Millville admit to taking part in Vineland murder

Four members of the Nine Trey Gangsters set of the Bloods street gang pleaded guilty to racketeering, admitting they participated in a murder in Vineland in 2006, according to Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman. The four men were charged in “Operation Nine Connect,” a joint investigation by the New Jersey State Police and the Division of Criminal Justice.

he following four defendants each pleaded guilty late Friday afternoon to first-degree racketeering before Superior Court Judge Darrell M. Fineman in Cumberland County:

Almeen Palmer, 36, of Atlantic City. The state will recommend that he be sentenced to 15 years in state prison.

Steven Armstead, 33, of Millville. The state will recommend that he be sentenced to 12 years in state prison.

Quason Blake, 25, of Atlantic City. The state will recommend that he be sentenced to 12 years in state prison.

Kelsey Smith, 26, of Atlantic City. The state will recommend that he be sentenced to 10 years in state prison.

Authorities said all of the defendants admitted that they were members of the Nine Trey Gangsters set of the Bloods street gang and that they participated in the murder of Leroy Lindsay.

Lindsay, 23, was shot in the chest on Jan. 23, 2006 in an apartment on South 7th Street in Vineland, authorities said. Palmer, Armstead, Blake and Smith each admitted that he participated in an attempt to “discipline” Lindsay for disrespecting another member and that the resulting altercation led to Lindsay being shot and killed.

They are are scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 11 by Superior Court Judge Robert Malestein.

“The murder of Leroy Lindsey, who was gunned down for disrespecting a member of the Nine Trey Gangsters, is typical of the senseless violence that was perpetrated by this set of the Bloods street gang in New Jersey,” said Hoffman. “As a result of Operation Nine Connect, we have sent over 40 members of this violent gang to state prison for lengthy sentences.”